As Justin Trudeau prepares to hold one-on-one talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Washington, Canada will provide an additional $500 million in military aid to Ukraine.
A senior government official, speaking confidentially, said Canada would also begin providing much of the training for Ukrainian fighter pilots.
In his conversations with NATO allies, Trudeau stressed the need to maintain strong support for war-torn Ukraine, which takes centre stage at the three-day summit.
But Mr. Trudeau also faces pressure from American politicians who publicly criticize Canada for failing to meet its defense spending commitments.
NATO allies have agreed to spend at least 2% of their national gross domestic product on defence. Canada’s current spending is just under 1.4%.
Trudeau tried to preempt the criticism in a speech Tuesday in which he said Canada has kept its promises to significantly increase that funding. Since 2014, the defence budget has increased by more than 57 per cent and is estimated at $29.9 billion by 2024.
The only NATO countries spending more are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
Yet a decade after first committing to the 2% target, Canada remains an outlier, having failed to meet that target and failing to present a plan to achieve it.
In May, 23 U.S. senators wrote a letter to Trudeau urging him to come to the summit with a clear plan. Defence Minister Bill Blair suggested earlier this week in Washington that Canada would present the plan demanded by its allies at the summit.
Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, said if that were the case, the plan should have been made public, “so our partners know we are serious.”
“We are clearly in the sights of American politicians and their narrative is that we are the weak link in the North within NATO,” he lamented.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell highlighted Canada’s spending failures following a meeting with Trudeau on Tuesday.
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, also spoke critically about the issue at a conference at the Hudson Institute in Washington the same day.
“It’s easy to ride in the footsteps of the United States,” Johnson said. “They have the safety and security of being on our border and don’t have to worry about this. It’s shameful.”
Dispel worries
Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair hinted earlier this week in Washington that he would present at the summit the kind of plan requested by the allies. The Canadian government allayed concerns by announcing a phased move Wednesday to replace its submarine fleet.
He said Canada would buy up to 12 conventionally powered submarines capable of navigating under ice – something the government committed to doing in its new defence policy in April.
The announcement did not include a cost estimate that would clarify for allies or Canadians how much the project would contribute to closing the 2% gap.
A government official said more information on Canada’s plans to meet the target would be shared Thursday.
In the morning, Justin Trudeau met with new Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is not a NATO leader but participates in the alliance’s Indo-Pacific working groups.
The issue of submarines was raised at these meetings.
Dinner with Biden
In the evening, Mr. Trudeau will attend a dinner hosted by the American president at the White House.
Concerns over Joe Biden’s health and the possibility of a second Donald Trump presidency have already cast a shadow over the three-day leaders’ summit in Washington, D.C.
Trudeau did not respond Tuesday when asked by a reporter whether he had concerns about President Biden’s age or mental acuity.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, for his part, brushed aside questions about the US president, saying he had met Mr Biden “and there is no doubt that everything is fine”.
“We do not need to interfere in the American elections,” Duda said at the summit on Wednesday.
The age and mental acuity of Mr Biden, 81, are under intense international scrutiny after a disastrous debate last month against Mr Trump.
On Tuesday night, the American president delivered a clear and forceful speech at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of NATO, at a critical moment for the Democratic leader and for the stability of his party. With the whole world watching, it was an important opportunity for Joe Biden to prove that he is still capable of leading the United States.
Biden’s team said the president was most alert early in the day and tried to avoid events after 8 p.m., when Wednesday’s dinner with NATO leaders was scheduled to begin.